Rep. Danny Davis supported by Black Leaders for Chicago Mayor

A coalition of Chicago’s African American leaders has chosen a candidate to support for mayor. Given the popularity of recent additions to the Chicago mayoral race, one would be led to believe that the coalition’s candidate of choice would be celebrities Rham Emmanuel or Carol Mosley Braun. Instead, a home town hero and long-term local leader – Congressman Danny Davis – is the candidate of choice for this collective endorsement.

Former U.S. Senator and Ambassador, Mosley Braun, after opening her campaign office, stated that she was uncertain as to whether she was still a finalist in the race in light of the coalition’s decision.

On the other hand, Emmanuel, former Congressman and previous Chief-of-Staff to President Obama, has already raised over $4 million dollars and has begun courting the Latino vote.

Other candidates strongly considered were state Rep. James Meeks and Cook County board of Review Commissioner Larry Rogers.

Despite the addition of celebrity candidates, Representative Danny Davis who was overwhelmingly reelected to Congress for an 8th term was unanimously chosen by this coalition of black leaders to be a consensus candidate. Members of the coalition stated that Rep. Davis could build a coalition cross over to gain votes on both sides of the isle.

The coalition chairman, Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), said Davis impressed members during a sit-down Friday.

“The final sense was that it would be easier for him to build a coalition that would be needed to win,” said the member, who asked not to be named. “You can’t win with just black votes.”

Candidates have almost four full months of campaigning left. The election is February 22, 2011.

In anticipation of the election, a poll commissioned by Rep. Danny Davis was conducted by the Blackstone Group, which revealed that, “we can see the election being a run off with Emanuel, Dart and either Braun or Davis if Davis, for example, is able to capture the votes that would have gone to Braun, Meeks and Jackson. In this scenario, Emanuel would receive 41 percent of the vote, Dart would receive 24 percent and Davis would receive 35 percent.”

Due to the nature of this close contest, Chicago’s next Mayor will surely credit their success to the working and mechanics of his/her campaign. The Kingmaker coalition that supports and endorsed Davis isn’t the only game in town though, as there are sure to be African American organizations that support other candidates.

The outcome of the Chicago Mayoral race is sure to make headlines for months to come.

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